State Tournament Officiating

[best_of_the_west]

QUOTE(Blood Sweat & Tears @ Feb 17 2007 - 04:11 PM) 826376502[/snapback]Maybe for State, officials from KY or GA should be brought in so that there's no chance for "hometown officiating" to be a factor.

 

I noticed more than one occasion where a chatt school would get a call to go his way because of which official he had and what school he was from, when another school from Memphis or Nashville, or anywhere but Chatt., wouldn't have had the same call.

 

 

That's the stereotypical response. I was only there for the finals, but I thought the officiating was very good. I noticed a couple of times when I might have disagreed a little on a stalling call or a pin (or lack thereof), but I have to give the benefit of the doubt to the guys sitting a few feet from the action with years of experience. The simple fact is that there is a gray area in wrestling that requires an official to use opinionated judgment to make decisions, but these guys are in Chattanooga for a reason. You might see coaches complain about an official for a single match, but you will rarely see coaches that serious steps against an official through the TSSAA. Some officials will be from Chattanooga. That's only fair. It's not a surprise to me that these are always the officials being accused of biases. This usually correlates to the fact that Chattanooga has the best wrestling in the state. The easiest excuse for that is the officials. However, if enough coaches had a serious, ongoing issue with an official's ability to call a match fairly, I don't think that official would be at the state tournament. Yes, officials make mistakes and calls that we don't agree with, but the people accusing this of being bias are not seeing the same calls that go in their favor. Talk to any official, and you will find that he loves the sport. And the basic premise of this sport is the equal competition between two young men. It's not finding new refs, but finding a way to make yourself a better wrestler that is the the key to succeeding.

[amIaCoach]

QUOTE(best_of_the_west @ Feb 18 2007 - 05:57 PM) 826377984[/snapback]That's the stereotypical response. I was only there for the finals, but I thought the officiating was very good. I noticed a couple of times when I might have disagreed a little on a stalling call or a pin (or lack thereof), but I have to give the benefit of the doubt to the guys sitting a few feet from the action with years of experience. The simple fact is that there is a gray area in wrestling that requires an official to use opinionated judgment to make decisions, but these guys are in Chattanooga for a reason. You might see coaches complain about an official for a single match, but you will rarely see coaches that serious steps against an official through the TSSAA. Some officials will be from Chattanooga. That's only fair. It's not a surprise to me that these are always the officials being accused of biases. This usually correlates to the fact that Chattanooga has the best wrestling in the state. The easiest excuse for that is the officials. However, if enough coaches had a serious, ongoing issue with an official's ability to call a match fairly, I don't think that official would be at the state tournament. Yes, officials make mistakes and calls that we don't agree with, but the people accusing this of being bias are not seeing the same calls that go in their favor. Talk to any official, and you will find that he loves the sport. And the basic premise of this sport is the equal competition between two young men. It's not finding new refs, but finding a way to make yourself a better wrestler that is the the key to succeeding.

 

Great post!